Having lost six straight games to the Lakers, Detroit opened up Sunday’s contest with a statement that this edition would be different, as it won the opening tip and then rolled off 15 unanswered points.
“Teams come out and throw the first punch,” D’Angelo Russell said. “And the second punch. And then we try to react. By that time, it’s kind of too late.”
The Lakers eventually responded with eight straight points of their own, but it quickly went back to an ugly night for the purple and gold, which never led and trailed by as many as 30 in a 111-91 loss.